Free Republic

On Thursday, November 19, the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee will consider House Bill 40. http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=5205 HB40, sponsored by State Representative Scott Perry (R-92), would permit law-abiding citizens to use force, including deadly force, against an attacker in their homes and any places outside of their home where they have a legal right to be. It is clearly stated that there would be no “duty to retreat” from an attacker, allowing law-abiding citizens to stand their ground to protect themselves and their family. HB40 would also protect individuals from civil lawsuits by the attacker or the attacker’s family when force is...

HARRISBURG, Pa. – An appeals court has ruled Pennsylvania State Police botched a prostitution investigation in which troopers gave an informant money to pay for sex four times at a massage parlor, along with a total of $180 for the man's trouble. The Superior Court opinion issued Thursday upheld a Lehigh County judge's ruling that threw out prostitution charges against Sun Cha Chon in suburban Allentown on the grounds that the government had acted outrageously.....

A Franconia Township homeowner who found a burglar in his home early Sunday morning grabbed a shotgun and fired several shots as the person fled. According to Franconia Township Police, the resident of a home in the 300 block of Oak Driver heard a noise in his kitchen at 2:30 a.m. The homeowner saw a man run out of the kitchen door after taking an undetermined amount of cash that was left on the kitchen table, police said. Wielding a shotgun, the homeowner chased the burglar through his backyard, firing several rounds in the direction of the suspect, police said....

BEDFORD, Pa. - In exchange for no jail time, a woman and her adult daughter have agreed to stand outside a Pennsylvania courthouse holding signs saying they stole a gift card from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday. Fifty-six-year-old Evelyn Border and 35-year-old Tina Griekspoor stood outside the court for 4 1/2 hours Tuesday. They held signs that read: "I stole from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday! Don't steal or this could happen to you!"

(IsraelNN.com) A top advisor to PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, considered to be a “moderate” and a peace partner by the U.S. government, has charged that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is a “liar” who is being bribed by “Zionists.” Omar Hilmi Al-Ghul, and advisor to Fayyad and a columnist for a PA daily made the comments in an article translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Under the headline, "Clinton, Why Must You Lie?" he wrote, "Why is Mrs. Clinton lying to herself, to the American people, and to [other] world nations by twisting the truth...

Police in Bucks County say a woman faces prostitution charges after posting an online ad seeking World Series tickets. Bensalem Township police said they made contact with the female after viewing her add on Craigslist.com. The woman then allegedly solicited an undercover police officer to perform various sex acts in exchange for the tickets. Charged with soliciting prostitution and related offenses was 43-year-old Susan Finkelstein, of the 900 block of St. Bernard Street in Philadelphia. According to police, her online ad read: "DESPERATE BLONDE NEEDS WS TIX (Philadelphia) Diehard Phillies fan--gorgeous tall buxom blonde-- in desperate need of two World...

Philadelphia, Pa., Oct 27, 2009 / 04:49 am (CNA).- A Pennsylvania Episcopal church which joyously greeted the announcement of a provision to assist Anglicans who wish to become Catholic could be among the first to take advantage of the church structure put forward by Pope Benedict XVI.The Church of the Good Shepherd, an Episcopalian parish in the Philadelphia Maine Line suburbs, is an “Anglo-Catholic” parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. According to the Rosemont Journal, its liturgy is celebrated in the “high church” style reminiscent of traditional Catholic churches: with incense, elaborate vestments, and a choir that may sing...

(IsraelNN.com) The Palestinian Authority, led by the Fatah party, admitted to a British newspaper that its security forces commonly use torture on prisoners, as charged by the Hamas terrorist organization. The PA is heavily funded by overseas contributions as well as taxes collected for it by the Israeli government. “This is a shame on the Palestinian Authority,” Haitham Arar, head of the human rights department of the PA Interior Ministry, told the Mail. She admitted that torture, beatings and extra-judicial murders have been common in the Abbas administration

This should not shock anyone, we have seen this all happen before with the famous undercover videos done late this summer. Will Katherine Conway-Russell, office director at the Philadelphia ACORN office be fired? Will the main stream media post dozens of required retractions since they claimed James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles were kicked out of the ACORN office? Will Media Matters disown ACORN and post their own retractions? Update: More video added. We’ll have to see, but I find it interesting that Andrew Breitbart is providing just enough time between ACORN visit video releases to allow the main stream media,...

Both the family and the Church stand in the way of socialism's triumph, former US Senator Rick Santorum told Christians gathered for the 17th International Week of Prayer and Fasting last week. The pro-life champion warned attendees, however, that both institutions are under heavy attack from Obama-administration policies. "We are under a great assault with this President and this Congress on the issue of life. We are under a great assault, maybe even greater assault, on the foundational issue of the family," Santorum told those gathered for the October 11 dinner at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. Santorum said that the...

QALQILYA, West Bank -- Commanders of the U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces who have been locking up criminals and battling Hamas militants here for nearly two years have maintained morale in the ranks with a single promise: They will one day be the anchor of security for an independent Palestinian state. The lack of progress toward that goal is starting to sap Palestinian public support for the forces and erode morale among troops, even as they win praise and fresh funding from Washington for their accomplishments. Palestinian Security Forces train in the West Bank city of Nablus in August. Meanwhile, the...

In last year’s presidential election, Barack Obama won 70 percent of the gay vote, John McCain just 27 percent. Does that kind of clearly dominant constituency — one that’s more politically-attuned than the rest of the electorate — come with any political obligation regarding gay rights? You bet it does, and this weekend Obama is acknowledging the debt. On the eve of Sunday’s National Equality March, expected to draw thousands to Washington, he’s addressing the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights group. ...Marriage and the US military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay men and women in uniform...

Great chance for liberty lovers to meet, check out the facility for future meets and to discuss possible TEA party. Special table marked FR will be set up. Glen Spey Oktoberfest at MountainView Returns Historic Manor Celebrates 2nd Annual Oktoberfest, October 10 & 11 in Glen Spey, NY After a tremendous Oktoberfest last year, Verkhovyna - MountainView Manor will continue this new tradition for its second consecutive year on Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11. MountainView Manor is located at 369 High Road, Glen Spey, New York and is home to the historic Ardmore Mansion, which has been recently...

BlogTalkRadio/NiteCap at Freedom Radio ^ | Sunday, October 4, 2009 | 8 pm est., THAT's TONIGHT! Welcome me home from Kill Devil HIlls, DC and DE by joining me for a NiteCap at Freedom Radio as we share wit and wisdom with our guests, Lt. Col. Bill Russell and Lt. Col. Bob Weimann, retired, author of Sins of the General Series. We'll discuss the threat made to Bill Russell from the Murtha campaign as well as the future of the people of Johnstown and the innumerable Murtha family scandals. Also we will ask Bill to update us on the newest...

After World War II, the U.S. government invested an enormous amount of money in medicine; medical research, medical procedures and medical technologies. This investment made contemporary scientific medicine into American medicine, characterized by a continuing flow of new treatment possibilities. These advances raised all kinds of ethical questions. Some were personal and individual, others were social and political. Both type questions are addressed by a new academic discipline called bioethics. The first attempt to develop a scientific medicine took place in Greece in the 5th century B.C. It was called Hippocratic medicine. Closely linked with this first scientific medicine was...

Victim shoots robber in Washington County Saturday, September 26, 2009 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The victim of a robbery attempt shot and killed one of the robbers in New Eagle early yesterday, state police said. Police said William Eyles, 25, of Monongahela, and Cole MacFarlane, 25, of New Eagle, tried to rob Joseph Gallick, who pulled a gun and shot Mr. Eyles. Mr. Gallick was treated at Monongahela Hospital for injuries incurred during the crime. Mr. MacFarlane was charged with homicide, attempted robbery, conspiracy and criminal mischief and is in the Washington County Correctional Facility.

A man upset with a guilty ruling in a Bucks County traffic case this week filed a different, messier type of appeal: he stuffed a toilet with paper, flooding the district court's bathroom, according to state police at Dublin. Everett Jackson, 26, of Philadelphia, was in the Nockamixon Township courtroom of District Judge M. Kay Dubree on Monday where he was found guilty of disregarding traffic control devices and ordered to pay more than $200. Upset, Jackson went into the men's bathroom, stuffed a toilet with a roll of toilet paper and paper towels and then left the courtroom, police...

McDonald, Pa. -- Police said three men who forced their way into a Washington County home were greeted by a homeowner with a shotgun. “It’s not a very nice thing to happen in McDonald, because McDonald is a very quiet town,” said neighbor, Don Feigley. Police said the homeowner, Joseph Tokarksi, who was one of several people in the house, came down the steps with the weapon in his hand. “I’m prepared to do what I have to do to protect my home and my family,” said Toarski. “I’m all for that. I think anybody should be allowed to defend...

Currently: TODAY'S QUESTION: Do you agree with Senator Casey's vote on ACORN funding? (Poll closes at 7 p.m.) YES (73 responses) 14.4% NO (435 responses) 85.6% 508 total responses

WASHINGTON - A resurgent conservative activist community that last month zeroed in on U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter has turned its ire to Democratic colleague Bob Casey over the freshman senator's vote against blocking federal funding for the community organizing group ACORN. Casey's vote Monday put him at odds with all but six of his Senate colleagues, who approved an amendment to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2010 spending bill to bar federal money for the organization next year. The vote came after videos surfaced showing workers in multiple offices giving tax advice to a couple posing as a...

A wealthy Russian-American car exporter was sentenced to eight years in prison Wednesday for procuring girls from a Russian orphanage to have sex with them. Andrew Mogilyansky, 39, of suburban Philadelphia raped one girl on her 14th birthday and a 13-year-old in her first sexual encounter, the victims said in letters to the court.Friends from Mogilyanksy's days at Columbia University testified Wednesday, describing him as brilliant and generous, and his wife called him a loving husband and father. A defense psychotherapist concluded he is not a sexual predator. But the victims wrote that he left them pained, depressed and unable...

I called Casey's office yesterday after the ACORN defunding vote tally was made known. I left a message telling them I want a callback explaining why Casey voted the way he did to fun a corrupt organization like ACORN after many tapes were release showing them setting up brothels. BOR had the Gang of 7 on last night as did Beck, and today when I called (as I will be calling every day until I get an answer), the message said that the voicemail of nearly every office I called was full. Keep calling! Hold them accountable! ****** Washington D.C....

LANCASTER, Pa. — Horses drawing buggies regularly clop down the roads approaching Lancaster, a peaceful city in the heart of Amish country that had only three murders last year and relatively low crime. But if the community sounds reminiscent of the past, it also has some distinctly modern technology: 165 surveillance cameras that will keep watch over thousands of residents around the clock. When it is complete, the surveillance system will be bigger than those in large cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco and Boston. And the fact that it will be monitored by ordinary citizens has raised privacy concerns

John Murtha (Democrat) This clip is appalling - I don't have an exact date, but it happened quite a while ago. Just watch how our government runs things. Maybe Glenn can ask what is up with this?

In February of 2001 Don Berkebile added a one page codicil to his will saying it was added; “in the event that I should suffer an accident before a new will is prepared.” Then in 2003, he added a sticky note to a letter to the Editor he sent to a reporter at a local news agency, noting that he felt his life was in danger: “Keep this in mind, should something happen to me, and request a thorough investigation.” They say justice delayed is justice denied. Over a year has passed since Don Berkebile; retired curator of the Smithsonian...

Bishop John M. Dougherty / Bishop Joseph F. Martino Scranton, Pa., Aug 31, 2009 / 10:32 am (CNA).- At a press conference in Scranton this morning, Bishop Joseph Martino announced that he and auxiliary bishop John Dougherty are stepping down from their posts. Bishop Martino explained that he is resigning because of "crippling physical fatigue," while Bishop Dougherty is retiring upon having reached the age limit.Last week, CNA reported that Bishop Martino, 63, would be resigning from his post in Scranton. The Vatican announced today that Pope Benedict has accepted the resignation of Martino in accordance with canon 401...

Bishop Joseph F. Martino Scranton, Pa., Aug 28, 2009 / 11:12 am (CNA).- Most Rev. Joseph F. Martino, Bishop of Scranton, will resign as head of the Diocese of Scranton next week, sources within the diocese confirmed to the local press today.The sources did not explain the reason for the 62-year-old bishop’s decision. The sources also did not specify if the Bishop’s resignation was going to be presented or if it had been already submitted and accepted by the Vatican.When asked by CNA to confirm Bishop Martino's resignation, diocesan spokesman William Genello said that the diocese will hold a...

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed the announcement by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas that he will meet the Prime Minister during a U.N. conference. Netanyahu said that for a long time he considered the possibility of the two meeting, without preconditions, in order to advance the peace process. Netanyahu said, “The Palestinians will raise during the meeting the issue of Jerusalem and refugees and we will state our opinions.

JERUSALEM – The American-funded Palestinian Authority provided financial support and, in at least one case, an official salary to al-Qaida allies in the Gaza Strip, according to information obtained by WND. U.S. policy considers the PA to be moderate. America arms, trains and funds PA militias and provides hundreds of millions of dollars per year in financial support to the Palestinian group. President Obama, furthermore, backs the creation of a PA-led Palestinian state. But WND has learned that Abdel-Latif Moussa, leader of a Palestinian Islamist splinter group allied with al-Qaida, has been on the official PA payroll for at least...

Abbas has several stakeholders in and around him: Israel, Hamas, Fatah, the moderate Arabs, the militant Arabs/Persians, and the United States. The challenge for the duplicitous Abbas is that the stakes of these several holders conflict, and he is summarily falling short on every count. He pleases and crosses every one of them as time goes on. The end result is coming into focus: Abbas isolated and expendable. He'll be the last to know and the one most harshly affected.

(IsraelNN.com) A Palestinian Authority university lecturer was the latest PA academic to rewrite history and deny Jewish history in Jerusalem, which was the Jewish capital for a full 1,600 years before Muhammad authored the Muslim Koran. The lecturer denied the Jewish people's connection to the Western Wall of the Jewish Temple.

Republican former Congressman Pat Toomey leads in a poll against both of the Democrats vying to run against him in the 2010 U.S. Senate election, according to a Rasmussen poll. Rasmussen Reports said today that 48 percent of Pennsylvania voters surveyed support the former Lehigh Valley representative while only 36 percent back Democratic Senator Arlen Specter. U.S. Representative Joe Sestak, D-7th, of Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties only got 35 percent of poll respondents’ support in a match-up against Toomey, with the Republican getting 43 percent. At this early stage, Mr. Sestak is the underdog in the Democratic primary, trailing...

Pike County - Young Republicans in Pike County have formed a chapter of the Pennsylvania Federation of Young Republicans (payrs.com) and the Young Republican National Federation (yrnf.com) in Pike County. The Young Republicans reach out to registered Republicans between the ages of 18 and 40 and is the oldest political youth organization in the country. The Pike County Young Republicans (PCYR) will give young voters in the area an opportunity to become more involved in local, state, and national politics while also giving them the ability to let the party know what is important to young voters today. The PCYR...

Toomey: Just Another Political Opportunist August 13 2009 Filed under US Senate by Chris Freind Well, that didn’t take long. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey has officially become part of the go-along, get-along Establishment that he so vocally opposed over the years. In the process, he has demonstrated that he is just another politician masquerading as a principled conservative. It is precisely this type of hypocrisy — from Toomey and some of his followers — that can signal the beginning of the end for a political movement. At issue is Toomey’s statement that, had he been a senator, he...

I have been waiting for Senator Casey to announce a Town Hall meeting during the August Recesses. After several unanswered e-mail requests on this matter, I decided to call one of his offices. When I asked if the Senator was planning a meetings, the answer was “he is still deciding”. I then pointed out that it is the middle of the Month and what is he waiting for. Needless to say his staffer could not answer my question. Therefore, I can only assume that he is not interested in hearing from his constituents or is afraid to face them? If...

Carney is "UNDECIDED" about the proposed healthcare reform bill and among a handful of U.S. Representatives – know as “Blue Dog Democrats” – who opposed a quick vote and slowed the progress of the healthcare bill coming to a vote prior to the summer recess.

The owner of Tony's Place, a pizza shop in Philadelphia, PA, reportedly shot an armed robber in self defense. Police say that an armed robber entered the pizza shop, which is located on the 2900 block of Frankford Avenue, at about 11:45 PM on Saturday. The robber is said to have threatened the life of the pizza shop owner, while demanding money. The shop owner reportedly grabbed his gun and fired in self defense. The robber was hit, and is in critical condition at a local hospital. Neither the shop owner nor any innocent bystanders were harmed. Armed robbers are...

© 2009 George SodiniI have another subject I want to address for today's Gun Rights Examiner column, but a developing story demands at least acknowledgment. We're still learning facts concerning yesterday's shooting at a Pittsburgh-area LA Fitness Gym. No doubt the "gun control" argument will flare up anew. For now, here's something I'm not seeing gaining much traction--yet. A website referred to (but not linked to) in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review account for the gunman, George Sodini. I see as I'm composing this The Pittsburgh Channel.com is confirming the website is real. Here's the link to go inside a disturbing mind....

The Fatah party, which leads the Palestinian Authority, will meet in Bethlehem this week and call for “controlled violence” against Israel, the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al Watan reported. The French news agency AFP also confirmed an Al Watan statement that Fatah will reject the idea that Israel is a Jewish state. The proposed Fatah platform in effect puts on ice any chance for negotiations over the establishment of a PA state. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said that talks with the PA must be predicated on its acceptance of Israel as the home of the Jewish people, which would provide...

Born in Cairo (Egypt) in 1929 Yasser Arafat – the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem (Haj Amin Al-Husseini, Hitler’s bosom buddy) niece’s little boy – soon became known as a “moderate” to the peace loving West. He was regarded as someone who was generally interested in ending the fighting with Israel while ensuring the rights of Palestinians. In spite of his murderous deeds against the Zionist Entity and the West (airplane hijackings, Achille Lauro, Munich, murdering American diplomats, etc.) in spite of wreaking havoc in Jordan and Lebanon (both countries had to throw him out!) somehow he was regarded as the...

If U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., thought he’d dodge a bullet by switching parties, he was sorely mistaken. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found the once popular lawmaker is in a statistical dead heat with the Republican challenger he had hoped to by-pass when he forfeited his GOP credentials to avoid a contentious primary fight. If an election were held today between Mr. Specter and Republican Pat Toomey, 45 percent of voters would favor the incumbent senator with 44 percent voting for the conservative challenger. This is a dramatic turnaround from a May poll, in which Mr. Specter enjoyed...

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Federal officials are preparing for a series of public meetings to discuss President Barack Obama's initiative to restore the Great Lakes, an ecosystem battered by invasive species, toxic pollution and other problems. Beginning Tuesday in Milwaukee, the Environmental Protection Agency will describe the initiative and take public comment in eight cities across the region. "The president has made restoring the Great Lakes a national priority, so this is an opportunity to explain that commitment," said Cameron Davis, senior adviser to EPA chief Lisa Jackson.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is spending $60,000 of its stimulus money on $2,000 road signs to highlight projects funded by the massive economic recovery package. The large green signs mark about 30 of what PennDOT calls ''higher visibility projects'' statewide. Each denotes the project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and features the act's logo. Nationwide, several million dollars are being spent producing the signs. PennDOT spokesman Steve Chizmar said Pennsylvania elected to take a ''middle-of-the-road'' approach to the federal government's strong encouragement that the signs be put at every project site around the state, choosing...

Those that recognize my name know I usually write the Westminster AAR’s. Westminster used to be our hometown and we do FReep/Rallies the 2nd and last Saturdays of each month, but Gettysburg, PA is our hometown. The past 2 weekends have given me great opportunity to share some special events that have taken place in our historic and amazing hometown. Westminster is a great place to visit, but we love living in Gettysburg! For those of you that live elsewhere, Gettysburg is a great place to visit! Over 40 miles of scenic road including the Gettysburg National Military Park, battlefields,...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- - A federal judge has sentenced former Pennsylvania Sen. Vince Fumo to 55 months in prison for corruption. Federal prosecutors say the wealthy Fumo stole not because he needed money but because "he was drunk with power." They had sought a sentence of more than 15 years. Fumo, his voice breaking, told the judge he loved his job and never intended to steal from the senate. U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter reduced Fumo's sentence based on his public service. The guideline range had been about 10 to 12 years.

PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge has sentenced former Pennsylvania Sen. Vince Fumo to 55 months in prison for corruption convictions. Federal prosecutors say the wealthy Fumo stole not because he needed money but because "he was drunk with power." They had sought a sentence of more than 15 years...A jury this year found the long-powerful Philadelphia Democrat misused millions in state and nonprofit assets. Fumo survived two earlier indictments in his 30-year political career.

Geert Wilders’ Speech in CopenhagenGates of Vienna, 15 June 2009...The problem is that the injunctions in the Koran are not restricted to time or place. Rather, they apply to all Muslims, in any period. Another problem is that Muslims also regard the Koran as the word of Allah. Which means that the Koran is immune from criticism.Apart from the Koran, there is also the life of Muhammad, who fought in dozens of wars and was in the habit of decapitating Jews with his own sword. The problem here is that, to Muslims, Muhammad is ‘the perfect man’, whose life is...

Elected officials and average citizens questioned the state's priorities in the budget impasse, which enters its seventh day today. Gov. Ed Rendell, pushing a 16 percent state income tax increase, and Senate Republicans, advocating severe spending cuts, remain miles apart on closing a $3.25 billion deficit. The majority of the state's 77,000 employees won't get paid starting in late July and early August, but inmates will continue to get paid for working at state prisons and for so-called "idle time" sitting in their cells. About 31,000 inmates participate in work programs that pay them 19 to 42 cents per hour,...

TAYLOR - A 40-year-old man has been charged in the brutal rape and attempted murder of a 5-year-old girl after a holiday picnic at her family's home, police said. Felix E. Montoya, of 270 Tamworth Drive, was discovered half-clothed in the child's bedroom early Sunday by a shocked family who kept him at bay until police arrived. He was charged with rape of a child, attempted homicide and other offenses. The victim was treated at a hospital for injuries to her face and head, adult bite marks on her thigh and shoulder and severe rape-related injuries, according the criminal complaint....

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - More than 20,000 Pennsylvanians are expected to exhaust their jobless benefits in mid-July. The state Department of Labor and Industry expects them to be the first large wave of people who have gone through as many as 72 weeks of unemployment benefits. Labor and Industry Department Deputy Secretary Patrick Beaty says the agency sent letters to 21,000 people last week notifying them. He says there is still no letup in applications for benefits, and the agency does not expect the rising unemployment rate to ease in the coming months.